Thursday, June 26, 2008

Quite good article but the point he made is unforgivable, in my understanding of Economics 101, there is no such thing as several hundred point basis to hike interest rates and CRR. What the nonsense he is talking?

"If RBI is interested in protecting the integrity of the currency, then it should hike the interest rates and the CRR by several hundred basis points"

My friend liberal economist use tell me "Economics professor's ideas never demise, mere their physical presence only demise" but on the streets of India on which man walk everyday in the route of prices, the natural order of Economics 101 is killed by every misunderstanding. Are you on these line? I do not know.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

There is an interesting article by Jayanti Roy, she is a Deputy Director, Academic Staff College, Panjab University but seems me he understand quite well what parents wanted from schools.

She writes quite revealing and the following a three paragraphs are note worthy!

“In fact, the schools can help ease the parents’ burden of raising the child by having parent-friendly procedures, timings, workings, etc. They can involve parents in decision-making, take regular feedbacks about the working of the school, invite their suggestions and recommendations and implement them if these are really good.

Schools can use parents’ expertise in giving exposure to their students regarding different careers and professions. Parents should be seen as assets and human resources. Qualified and interested parents can be called in as substitute teachers, resource persons.

Had American President Abraham Lincoln written that famous letter to his son’s teacher working in one of these parent-unfriendly schools, he would have got a rebuke from the school authorities. As parents, we do not ask for much. We only want to be equal and respected partners in sculpting our children’s personalities, which will only make the school’s work easier and more in tune with social expectations”.

As parents, we do not ask for much. We only want to beequal and respected partners in sculpting our children’s personalities, which will only make the school’s workeasier and more in tune with social expectations.Jayanti Roy

For long, educationists and policy planners have been advocating for our schools to be child friendly. However, there is another equally significant aspect regarding the working of our schools that is seldom spoken about—schools should be parent friendly, too. Most of the schools will fail miserably, if tested on this account.So, what is being parent friendly? It is not demanding lesser fees or more facilities or that the parents be treated specially but recognising the need of the parents to breathe easy while raising children and trying to give them a quality education.

Most of the schools make parents feel as if they have done something wrong. Today, parents seeking admission of their wards to various classes are seen as beggars. Every other day we read news reports about the highhandedness of school authorities. Most of the school managements are whimsical, arrogant and have archaic and rigid rules.

There is no transparency regarding management, its members, admissions, recruitments and qualifications of teachers, fee structure, awards, decision-making process, etc. This way schools maintain their arbitrary workings. God save the parent who wishes to know about these aspects.

The parents and their kids are subjected to different kind of emotional tortures. These things are rarely reported because parents are vulnerable targets as they are ready to suffer for the welfare of their children. Instead of raising their voice and taking stand, they prefer to keep quiet and suffer.

I know of a school principal who takes pride in turning the poor parents to tear for such small faults as rushing to the school to hand over the lunch-box to the child who has by mistake left it at home. In a much-sought-after school in Chandigarh, the staff are rude, they misbehave with parents and don’t show even the basic civil courtesy towards them.

This speaks a lot about the prevailing culture of snobbish negativity in the institute. What type of education a child will get in such atmosphere is another issue. To meet a principal of even an ordinary school, a parent has to pass through a security check. One has to divulge all the personal details, reason for appointment, etc. before he is allowed to meet with the vice-principal, who then clears the ultimate meeting.

Some schools impose heavy penalty in cash for trifle reasons. Parents are seen as culprits bent upon thwarting the school hierarchy. A school charges Rs 100 per day fine for late deposition of fee which cannot be waived even if there is a valid reason such as death or accident in the family.

Some schools refuse to refund the security money if the original receipt is lost. Annual functions and celebration of special days have become pretexts for harassment of parents. Are these rules there to improve the child’s intellect or to punish the parents?

In fact, the schools can help ease the parents’ burden of raising the child by having parent-friendly procedures, timings, workings, etc. They can involve parents in decision-making, take regular feedbacks about the working of the school, invite their suggestions and recommendations and implement them if these are really good.

Schools can use parents’ expertise in giving exposure to their students regarding different careers and professions. Parents should be seen as assets and human resources. Qualified and interested parents can be called in as substitute teachers, resource persons.

There can be joint workshops, discussion forums with school authorities and parents to mutually learn from each other, the focus being child’s all round development. In such a scenario, the emphasis would be on establishing and maintaining a bond of goodwill with the parents, which will in turn create a joyous learning environment in the school.

Had American President Abraham Lincoln written that famous letter to his son’s teacher working in one of these parent-unfriendly schools, he would have got a rebuke from the school authorities. As parents, we do not ask for much. We only want to be equal and respected partners in sculpting our children’s personalities, which will only make the school’s work easier and more in tune with social expectations.

The schools should be accountable to children’s and their parents instead to the bureaucratic papus and politicians. Beside, the schools irrespective of Government or private it should have autonomy to function what its customers needed that is parents and children’s. As you and I expect to satisfy particular product brought from any market.There is a strikes by Parents Teachers Association appointed teacher’s in Himachal Pradesh, due to their validity of appointment. Though the, PTA appointed teachers are demanding for regularization of their employment but it should be based their performance instead blindly counting the number of years their served.

For the ready information I have pasted the full news below.

PTA appointees launch strike Seek regularisation, end to probe Tribune News ServiceShimla, June 23 2008 Demanding withdrawal of the inquiry into their appointment and regularisation of services, thousands of PTA appointees all over the state today went on strike, affecting studies in many schools, especially in the remote areas.Hundreds of PTA appointees today staged a rally here today, raising anti-government slogans. Five PTA teachers sat on a relay fast close to the state secretariat which will continue indefinitely. They also distributed pamphlets about the injustice being meted out to them.Vivek Mehta, president of the State PTA Teachers Association, said after teaching for six years in schools there was no justification in holding an inquiry into their appointments. “Our services should be regularised, a proper PTA policy be made and the inquiry being conducted into our appointment must be withdrawn immediately,” he demanded.He said that the PTA teachers were open to a dialogue with the government but in case they are not called for talks, they would be forced to intensify their agitation. “We have been teaching in schools at one sixth the salary being given to permanent teachers, so it is totally unjustified to look into our appointments now,” he said.Mehta claimed that the functioning of 70 per cent schools in the state had been affected and once information about the strike reaches the remote and far-flung areas, all schools would be affected. He claimed that over 220 schools, including 48 in Shimla, 16 in Sirmaur, 82 in Chamba, 12 in Kinnaur, 14 in Kullu, 15 in Solan 17 in Mandi, 31 in Kangra, 10 in Bilaspur, nine in Una and four in Hamirpur were solely being run by PTA appointees.He also disputed the statement of the director, secondary education, that the PTA appointees had gone on strike without giving a prior notice. “We had gone to meet the director but he was not available and so we gave notice for the strike by getting it received in the central diary,” he said. He said that there was great resentment among the 15,000 PTA appointees and the government would be responsible in case they adopted an aggressive path. He said imposing new conditions on the PTA appointments was totally wrong when they had been appointed by the previous regime as per rules.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Environmentalism is good business as well. It is illusory in economics understanding that government feed people, rather other way around, through taxes. Indian liberal politician Sharad Joshi writes “There is a lot of hue and cry about climate change and global warming, though nobody is very clear what it really means”. That is true but “A couple of decades earlier, there were similar tirades against “capitalist” growth by the Communists and fellow-travellers, who argued that growth in a capitalist economy was bound to suffer from intermittent cyclical depressions and economic crises”.As I said earlier in one post, is worth to read some ideas from well experienced people like him. “The Communists who, in their heyday, ridiculed Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi as obscurantist charlatans, have taken to professing environmentalism after the fall of the Soviet Union. When Stalin lived and ruled, these very people championed the cause of establishing a Communist global hegemony as a legitimate revolutionary aspiration. Now, they are opposed even to the establishment of a set of rules of international trade under the World Trade Organisation.Even if the fears of the environmentalists of an impending doomsday look like materialising, human ingenuity is capable of coping with it. Already, plans are afoot to create an artificial sundial in space to soften the effect of solar radiation.Neighbouring planets are being explored with a view to finding a congenial environment for the settlement of generations to come. In fact, human ingenuity is such that, as Ayn Rand put it, even if the Sun itself were to collapse, human beings would be able to replace it with a Sun of their own creation.Malthus predicted widespread epidemics and famines in a situation where the supply of land was constant and the population increased in geometric proportion. He was proved false by technological innovations that permitted citizens of today to eat more and better than his forefathers did.When the evil effects of technologies start manifesting, man has usually found a way to overcome them by innovating further towards a more advanced technology. Humanity will take the problem in its stride and find ways of overcoming them. Humanity lives by its more innovative and enterprising members. Human ingenuity is limitless. There is no doubt that each innovation may create some new problems. But those problems, one can be sure, will be overcome by man’s ingenuity”.The full article is here. It is double worth to read with open mind.

The Chandigarh UT had announced to outsource education department housekeeping works to private sector. At least the time has come in north to outsource inefficient government departments works to efficient private sector.I have pasted the whole news below.

Chandigarh: In order to overcome the problem of filthy toilets, dirty corridors, unclean classrooms, dangling electrical wires and overgrown gardens, the UT education department has handed over its housekeeping department into private hands. The oneyear-contract has been given to Sunrise Facilitators, which starts work on June 23, which is Monday. The general scope of the work would include cleaning and maintenance of building works, public health, gardening, electrical work and open spaces, said DPI(S) SK Setia. The contract would include all model and non-model schools of the city, he added. The pri vate company would be required to clean and maintain buildings with the latest mechanical and manual equipment as per the schedule prescribed. Gardening would include development and maintenance of grassland, lawns, regular cutting of grass, doing landscape, and regular cutting and keeping gardens clean and properly maintained. ‘‘The students’ health is of prime importance to us. So we’ve asked the agency to provide anti-mosquito treatment along with regular anti-termite control, rodent control and general pest control,’’ a DPI(S) official told TOI. The official added toilet blocks and urinals would need regular attendants so that cleanliness and hygiene could be maintained. ‘‘We will provide cleaning machines for quality services to the government schools ,’’ said the contractor, Gurdeep. ‘‘As the quotation given by the department is quite less, we would provide one full-time sweeper in small schools and two for the big schools . Apart from that, we’ll be giving two part-time sweepers for the second shift in all the schools . Our main concern is to provide quality work and manage things well in the government institutions,’’ he asserted. Talking about outsourcing, Setia said the manpower would be shifted to schools reeling under shortage. Eligibility criteria The department has set minimum eligibility for the manpower and the staff that would be provided by the agency. A three years’ experience is must for the supervisor and the electrician and plumber need to be ITI certificate holders in electrical and plumbing trade.http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOICG&login=default&AW=1214053373812

It is the best system to monitor the teacher is performance through children and parents satisfaction of learning instead the other way around.In Chandigarh, there is innovative but not shocking one. I have pasted the whole story here.

Students to decide fate of teachers on contract By Dhara Katoch/TNNChandigarh: UT education department has come out with an assessment report of its SSA teachers working on contracts, which, interestingly, has been done by students of government schools. The initiative, undertaken by the UT education department, is first of its kind. According to Saroj Mittal, assistant director (vocational education), “We have covered 70% of rural and urban schools (both model and non-model) of the city.” She added, “We have decided to conceal students’ identity in order to avoid any kind of harassment by their teachers later,” she said. The department has received around 400 assessment forms from some of the schools and the analyses of which has already started. The assessment is being done under strict supervision of the counsellors. This will make chances of child being pressurized by teachers or school authorities very bleak, informed DPI(S) official. “The required action to be taken against the teacher will be decided only after thoroughly analyzing the report. Moreover, the renewal of the contract of SSA teachers will also depend on their assessment and points they have earned,” said SK Setia, DPI(S). While department officials are of the view that the idea will be helpful enough, the concept has not really been an impressive one for a few teachers. Sudesh Kaur, lecture, GMSSSS, Sector 8 said, “I don’t think it’s a great idea on the part of the department. How can students assess their teachers. They can be biased while giving feedback. It’s fine at the senior secondary level but not for the younger lot.” She suggested that senior teachers or officials from outside could visit different schools and assess the teachers. However, Sunita Kapoor, senior counsellor said, I’ve personally worked on the assessment project and it is a huge success. Students are satisfied and teachers have also realized that now they have to work hard.”http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOICG&login=default&AW=1214053373812

In this globalized era, the well known recent employment generator is outsourcing mania at least in India and developing countries. It is now time to outsource all poor (tax payers) funded government departments works to efficient private sector domain. But prompt monitoring is required in private sector otherwise the service will become endanger as it was in the government domain.

The Punjab government recently announced some of the government services to private sector to ensure the proper management and it reaches the needy people.

The state government has decided to outsource mid-day meals in Punjab schools. A centralised kitchen, replacing thousands of make-shift cooking places within schools, will soon be set up for supplying fresh cooked food to children in primary schools.The proposal, which has got the formal approval of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, will be first launched in three Punjab districts— Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Nawanshahr. The project is expected to save hundreds of teachers from the daily grind.The inspiration for outsourcing came from Delhi, where a similar model was set in place not long ago.A senior official said, “The state government extensively studied the Delhi model and then decided to replicate it in Punjab.”About 3.17 lakh students in as many as 2,233 primary and middle schools in the three districts will be covered in the first phase of the project. Under the existing system of mid-day meals, a schoolteacher is tasked with major part of the process, including procurement of raw material, storage, maintenance of accounts and arranging cooks (at a meagre wage of Rs 400 per month) among other things.Once the centralised kitchen is put in place, schoolteachers can concentrate on academics. Talking to The Indian Express, Director General, School Education, Krishan Kumar said, “Tenders have been invited from NGOs and voluntary organisations. The state will pay them remunerative cost as per the instructions of the Centre. Wheat and rice will be supplied to them as per the original format.”This year from March 31 onwards, the midday meal scheme has been extended up to class VIII. Krishan Kumar said the change would also ensure adequate checks and balances on not only hygiene and quality of food but also the calorie and protein content as per the laid-down norm.Sources said if the pilot project yields encouraging results, it would be extended to other districts as well.In Punjab, there are about 22 lakh children who are given mid-day meals for 220 days a year.http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/State-to-outsource-midday-meals/321836/

It is the price kinemics that determine the individuals to indulge particular service or any other viable necessities. Here is an economist who gently explains the basic principle of price kinemics.Consequently, the functions of price mechanism in both private goods and public goods is not perfect, the later is inefficient ends with poor quality of service and the farmer is efficient as the natural right to keep safe and productive with more care.The interesting paragraphs to grasp quickly:“In order to reduce the possible negative impact of increasing fuel price on economic welfare of the people, the Union finance minister advised the public to utilise public transportation system (PTS) as an alternative means of transportation.

The advice on switching over to PTS is based on the assumption that the PTS is a ‘perfect’ substitute for private mode of transportation. However, in many cases the PTS and the private mode of transportation are not perfect substitutes to each other.

Another fundamental economic issue to be addressed in the wake of the above piece of advice is that at what level of fuel price, the owners of private vehicles will switch over to PTS? Simple economic principle says that costs and benefits of both private mode of travel as well as travel by the PTS will have to guide the commuters’ decision to opt for either of the systems.More precisely, a commuter will switch over to the PTS only if the relative cost of travel in PTS is lower than that of the private mode of travel, when there is a change in the price of fuel. Let me take my own case. I have got a two-wheeler, which is my private mode of travel. Every day I have to travel eight kilometres up and down to work. At the fuel efficiency of 60 kilometres per litre, I can make six trips at the cost of Rs 55 (at today’s petrol price in Chennai).However, if I travel by the PTS I could make approximately four trips with the same amount (@ Rs. 14 per trip). On the basis of direct cost of travel, the economics of private mode of travel still works out to be ‘relatively’ cheaper. But, if I travel by ‘low fare bus’, at Rs 7 per trip, then I could make eight trips which works out better than the private mode of travel. Unfortunately, this option is ruled out because of ‘inequitable’ distribution of the low-fare services, especially during peak hours. In addition to the direct cost, there are indirect costs involved in travelling in the PTS, such as, opportunity cost of extended travel time, psychological costs due to congested travel and breakdowns, etc. Even though concessions on season tickets may reduce the burden of the direct cost, it is these ‘indirect costs’ that make the PTS less preferable. Taking into account all kinds of costs, the PTS becomes more costly than the private mode of travel. Simple economics says that even with the current increase in the petrol price owners of private vehicles, like me, will not switch over to the PTS permanently. So, the advice of the finance minister will be taken seriously only when the PTS is strengthened by inducting more number of low-fare but high quality services, apart from other measures”. Read full article here.

The economicus of private sector role in economy is perhaps less understood by policy maker in India, of course few who are pioneer in that system. Where the competition premised the products are get touched door step even the customer not interested to buy, it approaches often as grain with hand in mouth, beside the good quality products get bite by affordable price discovery by both sellers and buyers. On the other hand the monopoly system which produces products and delivers on the road step but poor quality products example are many like government education system, road, power, water etc.

Here is a minister who is against of both and tells something else which is mixed but flowed to damage the economy than the individuals get freedom to accumulate wealth.

“The poor have not got poorer. But the rich have got infinitely richer”. For which we don’t have evidence to prove in either way. But commonly felt feeling is poor got benefited from economic reform and even biggest benefits from globalisation.

It at all the rich become richer it is their handwork and honest business of making every day margin of profits. Why government envoy? Instead it should deliver what is stipulated in the Constitution

“Income and wealth may be unequal but each vote is equal”. True, the former is historically reported every humanity because (s)he is unequal naturally but the later ‘each vote’ is later emergence of humanity which valued as welfare cost or currency to become rich. Every time the election come the vote value remain the same but few who give corrupt money is different but still the promise for each vote is the same. But the delivery of promise is quite unequal which is never a got value to each vote that were brought in the election examination. Where the politicians write wrong answers to each vote, no matter how the poor is ignorant about the candidate profile.

Do read the full article my recommendation is rather little grasp what the “Not bureaucratic development but participative development”

Since some time now more people loud their voice on Indian IITs and IIMs in Higher education and KVs, NVs CBSC etc elite about the buoyant role of government achievements. They don’t understand the difference between these institutions and other specific regional State Government run schools and institutions. The later kills million of students instead to teach them to get employed and grow economy. It is also often get sucked debate on China and India’s economic development.

Here is an interesting yet quite acceptable argument between these two countries despite their diversity. Again it is from Economist Ajay Shah.“How important is exchange rate policy in explaining the gap between Chinese and Indian growth?In India today, it is fashionable to suggest that India should do Chinese-style exchange rate policy on the grounds that this will induce Chinese-style growth in India. There are three problems with this proposition. First, there are many important elements of the Chinese growth advantage - the contribution of exchange rate policy is small at best. Second, there is no switch inside the central bank which can be thrown to achieve Chinese-style exchange rate policy. A full reckoning of the cost and complexity of setting up that configuration must be put on the table. Third, Chinese exchange rate policy is breaking down.It is important for us in India to closely study the Chinese growth miracle. Six critical components of that experience can be identified, which differ from India:When their economic reforms started, China was near universal literacy, while we are still far from this.China has sound law and order, in contrast with the banditry that afflicts a third of India.China has no trade unions, in contrast with the difficulties faced by Indian firms.China has high quality roads, railways, ports and airports; in all four areas, India is lagging far behind.China has near-zero tariffs, in contrast with India which is still quite protectionist.China had a one-child policy, which led to a compression of the demographic transition into a short period.Before we embark on Chinese-style undervaluation, we need to take in the full costs of this strategy. India is on the path to building sound institutions, in the context of an open democracy and free press, and aspires to become a mature market economy. All the elements of the Chinese strategy are antithetic to this goal”.Don’t miss reading full article if you do no option to me to energies your muse!

The philosophy of hike of strikes should be too productive of labour insecurity. But what is being preached in Indian muddled thinner rather fatter CPM leaders is tragedy for masses.

“By calling a 12-hour bandh, the CPM brought everything and everyone to a standstill. People couldn't go to offices, schools, hospitals. They couldn't fly because the airport was shut; they couldn't die because the crematoria were shut, and they couldn't get born because the maternity clinics were closed. Total stasis.

The bandh - as perfected by the CPM - is India's answer to what has long been the holy grail for philosophers and scientists: the perpetual motion machine. The CPM's counterblast to the perpetual motion machine is the bandh: the perpetually motionless machine. The Marxist reasoning is simple. Why is fuel so expensive, and getting more so by the day? Because there is more and more demand for it. Because people want to use fuel - in buses, two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, cars, trucks, planes, trains - to gad about hither and thither, doing footling things like going to work to earn a livelihood, and going to school to get educated, and going to hospital to get cured, and similar piffle. All you have to do is to stop all such pointless activity. Bring everything to a grinding halt. And bingo. With people deterred - on pain of physical chastisement - from buzzing about here and there - jobs, schools, hospitals, etc - using all those fuel-guzzling buses, cars, planes, trains etc, there'll be no further demand for fuel. And so no more fuel crisis.

By eliminating the need for fuel, you not only eliminate fuel price hikes but you ensure fuel cost savings: the money which you'd literally have burnt on fuel which you've saved, because of the CPM. Now the CPM should take its policy to its logical conclusion and effect a 24x7, 365-days-a-year national bandh”.

It is worth read think over it whether we need new way of strike if at all it get sucked our livelihood earning. Read full article here.

I first heard economist Raghuram Rajan when he was appointed as head of research at the IMF and first Indian economist under 40. When I was in my M A Economics in Madras University. Later I started reading his interviews and got to know he is researcher and professor of finance. Recently h headed a committee in India’s financial sector reforms. Which started as new financial order yet to dominate as one was earlier. Of many comments posted on his committee, the insightful and honest one is from economic journalist of India is really worth note. His comments are loosely important to the point of economic analysis which is radical need change by logic in the 21st century.

The major correlation of his comments is based on Rajan’s education background alone matter, but the ability to analysis equally matter. Rajan is an undergraduate in engineering.

Take a case of few paragraphs:

“But its chapter on macroeconomic policy suffers from a serious defect in method. This is that it is almost devoid of internally consistent logic. Even its understanding of macro theory seems flawed: how do you recommend a currency appreciation when a country is running a current account deficit? Or is it that you speak only on behalf of the financial sector, the real sector be damned?

In those days a knowledge of logic was to economics what the ability to run a regression is now. Thus, by the end of the 1970s, the dominance of logic as the driver of economic reasoning ceased.

One completely unintended consequence of this change was the sharp increase in the number of persons with an undergraduate background in engineering who became economists. Thanks to the low priority that is given to social sciences in engineering, they were and are largely innocent of the ambiguities and dilemmas of the social sciences, its methods of debate, its underlying non-linearity and, above all, its techniques of reasoning.

Any one who is interested in economic analysis must have essentially, two. One is deduction and the other is induction. Both have their adherents and critics. And as the Karl Popper-induced debates eventually proved, neither is wholly right or wrong. This means that the context also becomes important sometimes. Nowhere is this more true than in macroeconomics.

In deductive logic or reasoning, if I may remind readers, the conclusion depends on the premiss. If the premiss is wrong, the conclusion will be wrong. Deduction also goes from the general to the particular. For example, if your premiss is that the private sector must, regardless of the context, play a certain type of role in the economy you will also have a second premiss that all fiscal deficits are bad because they crowd out private investment. Then since all fiscal deficits are regarded as being bad, fiscal deficits for countries in specific contexts are also regarded as being bad.

Unfortunately, and thanks in a large measure to the data boys, especially those with engineering backgrounds, this has become a generalised problem in macroeconomic analysis and policy wonking. So even though they pour scorn on anecdotal evidence, the data boys have become guilty of the same methodological flaw. They confuse correlation with causality and use induction and deduction inter-changeably.

This absence of a strong logical foundation has resulted in the report being reduced to what some would call pre-conceived notions regarding how things should do. One expected better.”

It is true in Indian planning commission in every aspect’s of planning for corner of the country flowed differently. Read fully article here.

My mind musing goes often like this, when India was ruled by other then present Indian, people were blamed on rulers, still blaming story is fresh. How present elected government rulers are different from those? Why blame mania exist like hay on the common street where the market function by the virtue of man.One senior economic journalist wrote very interesting interpretation no matter how one muse with some ideas told by teacher both in the class room and outside lay man teacher.“Look around you, and you will see why India” adopted socialist pattern of centralized economic system instead of least free market tag line. “Thanks to non-governance for nearly a decade, no one, just absolutely no one, has any clue as to what is going on in the country”.The rest is Line and Length in which TCA Srinivasa-Raghavan writes. A few paragraphs here.Take the economy first. Is Inflation high? Yes. Should interest rates increase? Yes. Would that slow growth down? Yes. But does it? No, sir, it doesn't. Why? We don't know? Black money effect? We don't know. Does anyone know? No, sirOr take agricultural growth. Is it a cause for concern? Don't be silly, of course it is. Then how come agricultural growth has been the healthiest at almost 4 per cent in several years? No one knows. Base effect? Maybe, maybe not, we don't know.Consider the fiscal situation. Is it bad? The finance minister says no but everyone else says yes. The combined deficit of the centre and states will touch 10 per cent soon. True or false? No one knows for sure. Does it matter? No one knows for sure.Infrastructure: Has it improved? No, yes, maybe, again no one knows. Monetary policy: Sensible, stupid, delivering results? No one knows. Exchange rate policy: Good, bad, idiotic? Depends on who you ask. Employment: Up, down, stagnant? No one knows. Why, the Planning Commission hasn't got the 11 th Plan out yet and it has been beavering away for four years now.One can go on and on like this but the point should be clear: Even after allowing for the usual amount of nonsense in a democracy, India takes the cake when it comes to not having the foggiest about its whereabouts.Focusless, directionless, leaderless, governanceless, mindlessly and senselessly, India is stumbling along. Sooner than later, it will take a tumble, a bad one at that.Read fully here

The present debate of Indian and world economy is primarily on ‘inflation, nuclear deal, loan waiver to farmer and higher education and food crisis, credit crisis, technology crisis and trade crisis.

For many crucial formal government documents will take several months and years report in a structured format. But only inflation and few other things will come out quickly without waiting for anything.

Ajay Shah writes “Prices are the messenger ……………The simple fact is the average global yields are far, far below what is possible with contemporary science. Vast tracts of land in the world - e.g. in India - have extremely poor yields. High prices generate the incentives for increasing yield. This process, of prices sending out signals and yields then going up, has been going on for centuries”.

Why the Indian governments treat the prices as “The socialist vision sees humans as inflexible and slightly stupid, who then need to be told what to do by the government”.

There is something wrong with the present price system. It seems they have been ignoring some important ideas which are on the top list board meeting in other parts of the world.

The quote mania plays sometime inevitable role to understand the situation that are framed in a sensation mode. One “from Keynes: “By a continuing process of inflation, government can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.” The other from monetary stalwart from Milton Friedman: “Inflation is the one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation.”

The other news paper writes “Keynes has a lot to teach us” but the fact is that the news paper wrote the above line because of the following lines goes like this “Speculators may do no harm as bubbles on a steady stream of enterprise. But the position is serious when enterprise becomes the bubble on a whirlpool of speculation. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done”. We need to learn a lot from F A Hayek not from Keynes whose ideas killed economics muse if not economists.More importantly, the news paper is totally ignorant of what the other monetary stalwart F A Hayek wrote equally on the subject. Let’s muse some of his ideas wrote in 1976.

Professor Hayek's most important insights is one on Choice in Currency. “THE CHIEF ROOT of our present monetary troubles is, of course, the sanction of scientific authority which Lord Keynes and his disciples have given to the age-old superstition that byincreasing the aggregate of money expenditure we can lastingly ensure prosperity and full employment. It is a superstition against which economists before Keynes had struggled with some success for at least two centuries.3 It had governed most of earlier history”.Altogether he talked about the Rejection of legal tender issued by the monopoly Government. Read more here.But the question remain constant as one Indian liberal economist ask "Do all poor not have 8 per cent nominal growth in incomes? With skill shortages in parts of the country (all poor don’t have employer-employee relationships and fixed incomes), do we have a robust empirical basis for the assertion or is it just a mindset? Some (not all) poor also have opportunities for income growth. Otherwise, that other crucial political number, the poverty rate, would not have dropped".

Friday, June 20, 2008

It is interesting post which is very much readable and muse indeed needed.Time is the most precious resource of men and women, and even older children. This is why it is disturbing that so much time is wasted through bad policies of the public authorities that manage infrastructure.Even modest estimate of the value of the time of those caught in traffic holdups would have easily exceeded the extra pay required to have work at night and during weekends when traffic is much slower.Traffic has grown in virtually all cities, with consequent greatly increased delays during commuting and other times. The solution is not mainly new urban highways, which are expensive to construct and disturb the functioning of local communities, but through pricing traveling on roads that already exist in order to economize on the time of commuters and other travelers.One important way to price roads and reduce the time of those caught in traffic delay is to introduce “congestion tolls” that vary with time of day and extent of the traffic. London, England has been using congestion tolls for several years to reduce the heavy traffic during weekdays into and out of the center of London.Despite some grumbling, this toll system has been successful, and is being extended to other parts of London where congestion is also a serious problem.—http://www.becker-posner-blog.com

Today’s one of the most influential liberal economist in India is Mr Sauvik Chakraverti who argue extremely revealing experience in the field of economics. What the man ought to say after all the age old economicus of mankind have ability to pursue him or herself?The full article is below read it is really excellent one.

Education provision by a failed State by Sauvik ChakravertiEvery activist in indian education suffers from a ‘delusion of knowledge’ — the notion that the socialist State, i.e. government, is in possession of knowledge that the poor need to succeed in life.In reality, the State is itself based on failed knowledge. Economic liberalisation was resorted to in 1991 after half a century of socialism, precisely because of knowledge failure. And it is only because of ‘liberty’ that Indian society can now access various fragments of knowledge that were previously unavailable. Now we have modern automobiles, mobile phones, plasma TVs and the like because we allowed knowledge developed abroad to flow into the country. The State-promoted IITs have been operational since the early 1960s but this knowledge wasn’t available in India. The State-owned IIMs are of similar vintage — but there were hardly any business enterprises to manage then.On the other hand, the poor have traditionally been in possession of various fragments of knowledge — but are denied entry into markets by repressive legislation. Poor girls can sing and dance, but the socialist State has outlawed nightlife. Tribals in the jungles of central India distill stimulating mahua liquor from an eponymous flower, but they cannot sell it. Tapping toddy and fermenting it is specialised knowledge. Last year Karna-taka reported a bumper toddy season — but nowhere on Bangalore’s swanky Brigade Road will you get a glass of toddy. The north-east is poor and underdeveloped; but boast great music bands there. But these bands cannot perform in heartland states because of State-imposed restrictions.These are all examples of real, hard knowledge going waste. And ironically the State, which is responsible for this waste, wants to teach. If establishment educationists shout in concert, an education tax is immediately imposed. But the ‘planned’ flow of knowledge from State to the poor never happens, and it never will. The minister in charge of education is a Nehru family “loyalist”. As such he will teach Nehruvian socialist propaganda. And his loyal educrats will dictate what private institutes will teach and meddle with what they want to teach.Thus, for the immediate benefit of the poor, and for the immediate spread of real knowledge, liberty is essential. Just as the public has benefited from foreign car companies entering India, so we will benefit from foreign universities setting up shop here. And just as the poor benefit from freedom, so will the national knowledge pool if anyone with a fragment of knowledge can set up shop and teach to whoever is willing to pay for it. The problem which requires resolution is that of transmission of knowledge from one who has it to another individual who wants to acquire it. The market alone can solve this problem. The State has no ‘collective pool of knowledge’. Indeed, the socialist Indian State is a naked propagandist, and all its attempts to secure ‘uniform standards’ in education have only resulted in the uniform teaching of untruths.Therefore, the Union ministry of human resource development — actually ministry of human resource destruction — should be shut down. Every educrat should be fired, and all schools and colleges freed from government control and supervision over curriculum as well as certification. Private edupreneurs can then compete for testing scholastic competence and issuing certification — as with SAT, IB or the ISC.What about poor kids in such a scenario? If they learn how to use a calculator, to read, write and speak English, to type on a keyboard and use a computer, to operate a mobile phone and send SMS, and how to drive a car, they will have all the basic knowledge required for success in the contemporary world. I am positive that private for-profit as well as non-profit efforts can easily transmit these fragments of knowledge to them in a manner that is efficient in terms of money as well as time.Poor kids need to enter the workforce early. for them, 12 years of school is a massive waste of time. The basic knowledge they need, as outlined above, can be transmitted to them by private edupreneurs, cheap and quick. Thus, there is no role for the State in education either for the rich or the poor, in primary, secondary or higher education.I conclude with what the great French economist Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) who was also in active politics, wrote in his election manifesto over 150 years ago: “Education is also bound up with the same fundamental question that precedes all others in politics: Is it part of the State’s duties? Or does it belong to the sphere of private activity? I believe that government is not set up in order to bring our minds into subjection, or to absorb the rights of the family... If you want to have theories, systems, methods, principles, textbooks and teachers forced on you by the government, that is up to you; but do not expect me to sign, in your name, such a shameful abdication of your rights.”Indeed, as Bastiat stressed academic monopoly of the State can only work if the State is infallible. In a nation of widespread State failure, the very idea of government infallibility lies in tatters. (Sauvik Chakraverti is an author and journalist, closely involved with India’s liberal movement)

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

In India, one of today’s most influential political science expert is Pratap Bhanu Mehta who often comment on strange stuck of politics at different sort of episodes that comes nonstop since the ugly man find the word politics as a part of mankind no matter how it is debated and where and when it bites!Today there is a piece in The Indian Express on “Modi’s secession?” of course it is not all about him. What he argues is all about the power between Centre or Union and States. Instead of writing “Modi has raised a serious issue” Mehta have understood poor muse.Let’s see one by one first we will take position of what the Constitution of India Stand, whatever the legitimate action taken by both States and Centre are to help the individual citizen of this country to generate a faire amount of wealth creation. This wealth creation is no different o other individual who is also well under the same law in same territory of India.What the States and Centre did since the independence of this country? Mr Mehta writes “In the past, patently absurd schemes undertaken in the name of regional equality, like freight equalisation, left poor states irrevocably more impoverished. And before India’s richer states get too self-assured that their prosperity rests on self-sufficient foundations, it is worth reminding them how it was based on all kinds of impoverishments inflicted on poor states”.First all the schemes are not for wealth creation instead of vote creation to bring another election etc etc.There is nothing called regional equality.There is nothing called poor States and rich States ban the word ‘State’ promise the word ‘Man’ is poor by State coercive power.No State ever become Self sufficient or self assured in the history in anything of what is called human needs.It is political murder to votes for saying “The poor states feel cheated anyway”.Another lobby point “is greater accountability. The Centre will hold the states accountable. But under present circumstances, we have the worst of both worlds. On the one hand, the Centre consistently overestimates its power to hold the states accountable. On the other hand, greater centralisation impedes the creation of horizontal accountability within states. In the final analysis, state governments can be held accountable only by their electorates, not by some vertical oversight imposed from the top”.

When the politicians demand votes by the cost of accountability and all that? And the argument goes “it has not led to mechanisms for strengthening the collective dialogue amongst states”.

Every collective action of State is become biggest hurdle for the individual who is in interest of creating wealth. Precisely State is=STEAL men wealth!The State which ensure individual freedom, private property right and free trade is must be encouraged.

A Delhi based Think Tank think that the “Education should be made competitive like any other products with alternatives and options for parents as well as pupils. What should be the role of policymakers do to get this end view? Should government fund students directly or fund government schools?” my answer to lies yes, we should but once has to reaslise “The challenge now is not how much government has spent on education but how the money is spent. There is a need to critically analyse the age-old solutions and explore innovative ideas including school vouchers, deregulation and decentralisation of curriculum, examinations and textbooks”.

Friday, June 13, 2008

I once wrote a biography about her father B R Shenoy that was little hesitantly rejected by Sudha Shenoy for publication, I am now thinking to write a biography about sudha shenoy?

Sudha Shenoy, 1943-2008A commenter on the Catallaxy blog recently stated that the free-market economist, Dr. Sudha R. Shenoy, had passed away after a long battle with cancer (I have confirmed this via the School of Economics, University of Newcastle).A native of India, and daughter of prominent Indian economist, Professor B. R. Shenoy, Dr Sudha Shenoy was an Honorary Associate in Economic History at the School of Policy, University of Newcastle, Australia. From 1986 to 2004, she was a lecturer at that institution. Since that time, she was a fellow at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, United States. In 2003, she delivered the Hayek Memorial Lecture at the Austrian Scholars' Conference, entitled 'An Auxilliary for Historians: The Contribution of the Older Austrians'.Her publications included Under-Development and Economic Growth, Central Planning in India: A Critical Review, and 'Austrian Capital Theory and the Underdeveloped Areas: An Overview' (in Richard Ebeling, ed., Austrian Economics: Past and Future). Shenoy edited the Centre for Independent Studies publication, Wage-Price Control: Myth & Reality, and, most notably, compiled and edited Hayek's classic Institute of Economic Affairs publication, A Tiger By The Tail.A brief Internet search illustrates that Sudha was reasonably active on the blogosphere, including as a member of the Liberty & Power group blog, and also presented numerous speeches on elements of Austrian economic thought and market theory all over the world. It is my understanding that she was in the process of writing a book on development, capital structure and the common law in England, c. 1100-1914, and, in 2003, she referred to an ongoing project of hers to write a Hayek biography.Whilst I never had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Shenoy, I am well aware of her contributions to economic history, Austrian economics and development economics. She holds a place as one of the forerunners of the modern Austrian school, through her attendance at the 1974 IHS Austrian economics conference at South Royalton, Vermont. Her work with the IEA in promoting F. A. Hayek's macroeconomic theory and ideas in currency competition also stand out as significant contributions. An early paper on Austrian monopoly theory is another nice sample of her thinking in the Austrian economic tradition.Shenoy's work in economic history and economic development were also insightful and original in character. Some good examples of her work in these domains included a note on government monopoly in money from a historical perspective (for a monetary economics paper written by Hayek), capital structure in the global economy, her paper for the Ebeling compilation, and a recent speech entitled 'The New Global Marketplace'. A recent article of hers published in The Freeman, in which she critically assessed Jeffrey Sachs' critique of Hayek, is another item that deserves to be widely read.Those interested in a more general overview of Shenoy's life work might be interested in an interview she gave to the Mises Institute, where, amongst other things, she referred to the formative influences of the works of Mises and Hayek in her student days.It also seems clear to me that Sudha Shenoy was well-respected throughout the classical liberal and libertarian communities, judging from the honourable mention that she, and her family, received in the Milton and Rose Friedman memoirs. I also refer to an account of a speech she made in New Zealand: 'Dr. Shenoy's speech was extremely well-received ... The meeting room was packed to overflowing with students and other interested persons - to the extent that many had to sit on the floor or stand in the doorway'. For any academic, these mentions represent welcome praise indeed.Given recent issues faced by scholars that specialise in economic history, and the history of thought, in Australia, it is sad to hear of the passing of a prominent economic historian. Indeed, the loss of a woman who cherished the ideals of freedom in the economic realm is a telling one. As is the case of all good academics, however, Dr. Shenoy left behind a legacy of quality work and fascinating insights - and none more so than her economic history reading list, posted on the Austrian Economists blog. In fact, one cannot think of a better way for a scholar to encourage the next generation to take up the intellectual challenges that lay ahead of it.

This is my Book Review and interesting thoughts and many muse, i fully enjoyed.The Funda of Mix-ology what bartending teaches that IIM doesn’t by Mainak Dhar, Published by Srishti publishers & Distributors, Rs.100

It was around 4.30 on April 3rd, 2008. My new friend Neetu called me, it was unexpected call, but I was about to think, it may be for April fool! Though two days over. It was not. But interesting call! She showed me a book and asked how is it I was mum-cum but murmuring myself, what must be there in it. Quickly I just gone through the author’s brief bio, it perhaps for young minds I said. She simple looked at me with nice smile but both were in puzzle.

As I am always fond of reading liked books, I asked her to issue this book to me but she did not, because she already planned to return it to library and issue another book for some one else, my hope to read, has gone almost terribly, because, I may live without food for some time but not without the book that I liked to read. So I return to my work place without telling a word to her but smiled. What hope is left to dream further?

I was merely busy with my works, to complete on time and get out of office but no way until 8.30 pm and freed from office but on the way to go home I saw, Neetu has not returned the book which I liked very much but blindly at that time, but she was suppose to return the book but did not. My goodness I revisited my hope to get the book and read, I was mystified and felt stupid to take that book without her knowledge and read 7 chapters out of 14. By the time it was, around 2.30 am, I could see how I traveled with author’s interesting life for about four hours I did it and slept good sleep.

I woke up in the morning, it was 8 am, got read ready, came to office, before Neetu came, I still not informed her the book is with me, but she asked when she came to office, is the book with you? Yes I said, but she again smiled and said I wanted to return the book by 10.30 or 11 am. I was murmuring about the word ‘return’ but I was still happy to complete the reading with her notice dead timeline. I did it by around 1 pm when I finished my useful reading I thanked to Neetu….. What a humor but that was!

After reading ever chapter, I thought that I should write a full review about the book, but after the complete reading felt that, I have no view left to write, except to state the proactive, generous and make to work individual’s life with their own muse for action is that the great job which I am going to do here. The book has 14 chapters across 148 pages. Each chapter start with a good lucid poem which I believe is worth reading than splitting something from each chapter.

What is more interesting was the author, his musings in life of technology out of his professional career in private Organisation and the predatory State of Government in which his father worked for his whole life, I really like this line, as the author writes that “I wanted to do more with my life than slave for a corporate or the government all my life” (p. 87).

It should be noted, that his father worked with Government for long time and retired. Author note that his father’s life income and saving was just two or three years yearning of his income and saving, how much have changed so much, but the conclusion of book says that there are only mixing up. You may think at back side of your mind that what is all about that mix-up, it is you to decide and be decisive for your life nobody else can ever do or did that.

Albeit, still you perhaps attempt to muse that the Government is doing good for poor it is bullshit. Why it works because it impose tax from individuals like you and me for that it try’s to do something but fails at every step! Would we need any more attempt to do more the answer is no, let’s you try to muse why you on this land for what and be decisive for your life, never for other nor other for your life!

Let’s go ahead to read the following interesting muse! It’s not so check it? The inspiration to dedicate the book goes with the below lines:‘My muse, my inspiration and the love of my life’

An ode to EnnuiEnnui envelops mein its comforting arms,as I sink into a worldof pleasant nothingness.

The illusion is shattered,ringing phones, fill in-boxes,and I return to this world,leaving ennui behind.

But it remains in waitfaithful to the end,and I long to return,to my ennui’s arms.

Lost in the MobA thousand voiceless faces,cast in the same mold,silently urging youto do as you’re told.

A thousand faceless voicesspeak in the same tone,urging you to suppressthe song of your own.

Fight to rise above the mobfor when all is told and done,all you really have to showis the little individuality you’ve won.

It may well change,like chalk on slate,but at least I’ll know,the author was me, not fate.

12 Intimation of MortalityYour whole life spent planning,things not yet done and said,dreams yet life unfulfilled,for the years that lay ahead.

But what if fall you had,was just one solitary day,in which to live your dreams.in which to have your say?

Would you go down quietly,like the slowly setting sun?or would you shine one last day.as if the day’s just begun?

13 HomecomingA journey through time and space,prying to bridge the miles and years,between where I find myself,and a place I used to call home.

Hello shells of brick and stone,shadows of ghosts that were friends,the closer I am to where I was,the more a stranger am I to myself.

14. Mix it up!I drank of the cup of my life,and found bitterness in every sip,the sweet taste of happiness,seemingly never touching may lip

I swirled the cup and saw,many hues and flavors within,never seen and tasted before,as I hadn’t seen beyond the brim.

The secret to my happiness lay,not in seeking another cup,but taking the one I had,and just mixing it up!

I hope you have decided to mix-up, never forget that the muse to make action is to make the actionable life but with mix. The decisive life is just need two things: hard efforts and honest action in your life is the only root-cause to enrich your self development as a matured human being to live. Many thanks to Neetu because she gave me the book for next few days, I really enjoyed the good reading. How Neetu has changed! Read the book and mix-up your life!